Restoration
by CMW2
Summary: Part 9 of ? in my Green Eggs and Ham Series:This is a canon compliant, post Season 5 small chapter fic;One argument can cause ripple effects. Marshall and Abigail are done, forcing Marshall and Mary to take a good look at their relationship...or lack of one;Rated for language and spice;1st in my 2013 SSS Project;NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Good 2013 afternoon, everyone. Hopefully, everyone had a safe night out yesterday. To kick off SSS 2013, as promised, here is the canon compliant Green Eggs and Ham fic. I still have lots of IPS rage and disdain in my gut so this story, while it will give us what we deserved to see, will have a decidedly bitter and dark tone with blatant OOCness. I'm not one for writing violence but there will be foul language and rip the scab off honesty on everyone's part and maybe a little sex. I don't know. This is gonna be a very short chapter fic and I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"**

"_You don't even want to marry me at all, do you?!"_

"_Of course I do!"_

"_Bullshit! It's been 6 months since you proposed and we barely have a priest, much less a wedding date! You haven't shown up to any of the appointments and when you are there, it's like you're a damned zombie __**or**__ you get called away almost immediately!"_

"_Abigail, I gave you my great-grandmother's ring, I moved out of my place, I took a less dangerous position at my office, and I gave up my fucking best friend for you! What more do you want from me?!"_

"_Best friend…__**right**__…she's nothing more than a best friend to you but you've acted like a sick moping old dog ever since you…how did you put it…re-established boundaries?!"_

"_What are you implying?! I'm not cheating on you, Abigail!"_

"_Maybe not with your dick but the rest of you? Definitely. You know, people at my work warned me about you. They said that no matter how much progress I made with you, no matter how close we got, I'd always have to compete with your precious partner for scraps of your attention. They said that getting with you was setting myself up for a huge fall and they were fucking __**right**__! I'm nothing more than Mary goddamned Shannon's sloppy seconds! You only asked me to marry you because you couldn't have her! You're pathetic! Pining after a woman who will fuck any and everyone else but you…"_

_The tumbler of scotch he had been holding shattered against the wall and she just laughed, following as he went towards the bedroom. _

"_The truth hurts, doesn't it?! And just where do you think you're gonna go?! After all, you gave up your place…"_

_He pivoted on his heels and she stepped back at whatever look was on his face._

"_I don't care where I'm going, just as long as I'm far the fuck away from you. Give me the ring. That's what you want, isn't it? You want me to take the ring back so you can run off and be the damned victim amongst your friends and family. You don't know a goddamned fucking thing about whatever feelings I have for Mary and now, I don't have to explain anything to you. Keep the house and Oscar. I just want the ring. __**Now.**__"_

_Abigail's face went from rage to resignation and he took the ring back, pocketing it as he emptied drawers, clenching his jaw against the prick of tears in his eyes._

_Who he was crying for was anyone's guess, now…_

"_Fine. Just fucking fine, Marshall. I hope you're happy now. You don't have to pretend with me anymore. And you know what? You can stay. __**I'll**__ leave. I'm not nearly as stupid as you think I am. As soon as you started doubling up your hours, I knew what time it was."_

_She pulled a duffel bag and a suitcase out of the closet, whistling for Oscar as she moved out the front door. The hound bounded into her truck and she closed the door, looking at him with hurt, disgust, pity…_

"_I am no one's sloppy seconds, Marshall. If you want to keep pining after her when she's never given you an inch after a decade, fine. Don't expect me to put up with it, anymore or anyone else later on. You're gonna grow old and die all alone just because of Mary fucking Shannon…"_

* * *

All anyone knew was that it was over.

Abigail Chaffee had left Albuquerque and Marshall Mann behind. No one knew details, no one asked. There were plenty of theories though, ranging from Marshall cheating with her to Abigail running off with a bassist from the band that played at the Two Fools Tavern. Mary Shannon had already had to deal with one of the woman's indignant friends. The caustic blonde had scathingly told the meddling doe eyed defender that she had nothing to do with the dissolution of anyone's engagement except for her own and that hadn't said more than a dozen non work related words with Marshall in 6 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days. Well, she had said six months but her brain supplied the rest. The cheerleader's friend had looked at her hard and then softened, patting her arm before walking away with an apology, grumbling about what an inconsiderate heartbreaking fuck that her partner…her _**boss**_…was.

It took everything she had not to follow after the bitch and pound her face into hamburger. Even though he had dropped her like a bad habit in the name of love, Marshall Mann was still her best and only friend in the world. Nobody had the right to talk about him like that…

"… _I need you to release me. I need to be free enough to have a life with Abigail, and I need you to be okay enough for that to happen, because if you call I'll come. __**Every time**__."_

"_Well__, I don't know a lot these days. All I know is that more than anything in the whole world, I want you to be happy. So, I'm going to say this once and only once: I want you to marry Abigail. She makes you happy. I like her and I like you together. I know, I hide it well."_

"_Yeah. Okay. So, shall we get on with the rest of our lives?"_

"_You first…"_** – In Plain Sight Episode 5x08: All's Well That End**

It had been a delayed reaction but she was fucking pissed at him for his words. He was supposed to be her friend but then he had the balls to imply that he was a prisoner with her? He wasn't. He could've walked away at anytime before that little perky country bitch showed up but he hadn't, making her feel like she could trust him, that he was the one person in the world that wouldn't abandon her. Shows how much she knew…

_**It's not **_**all**_** his fault, you know**_, a pointed inner voice reminded her_**. You're not exactly a walk in the park to deal with and treating him like you did…can you really blame him for wanting an out? **_**8 years**_** he put up with you and it's not like he left you a box of shit filled lies letters like dear old Dad. Sure, he was like an inmate at the parole board on the balcony but he gave you a choice. You could've said no about releasing him. You could've told him how you really felt about Abigail having her normal little claws into his ass. You could've been your usual selfish bitch honest self and I bet you dollars to donuts that he would've gone with it. And let's not forget that it's your own damned fault that he ended up with Abigail in the first place…**_

"…_You've __**done**__ the cowboy. And when you weren't __**doing**__ the cowboy, you __**were**__ the cowboy, like with Raph. You don't need to let off steam, what you need is— I get that you don't like messy, but __**maybe messy is what you need**__. Maybe instead of just anyone you should be looking for __**someone**__. Someone who __**challenges**__ you, who calls you on your BS and gets in your face and makes you __**think**__…"_ – **In Plain Sight Episode 3x13: a Priest Walks into a Bar**

Fuck. Right. It _**was**_ her fault, wasn't it? Marshall had sledgehammer to the tits hinted that day that he wanted more from her (not to mention the Toast from the Engagement…) but he had ultimately left it up to her. He always left it up to her. In response, she had ran away to fuck Mike Faber into a cheap, tequila reeking mattress and Marshall had taken that as not only but a no but as a 'fuck you and your heart and your loyalty…' so off he went to find someone else. And now, the someone else had broken his damned heart just…just like she had for all the years. Shit. The guy just couldn't catch a motherfucking break with women, could he?

"Hey, Chief? I'm heading out."

Marshall nodded once and continued looking out of the main office window, the scotch he kept in his desk open and a quarter of the way empty. Crossing the empty office, she saw that he was holding the ring he had given to Abigail, the ring that had belonged to his great-grandmother. She remembered finding it while helping him Spring Clean his place (she had lost a bet…) and he had told the story about how his great-grandfather had picked it up during the war and held onto it through thick and thin so he could propose to her as soon as he got home. It was like that _**The Notebook**_ movie Squish loved so much, only with a happy ending. Even though Mary personally thought that happy endings were bullshit, she knew Marshall deserved one…

"I know that I suck at this but…you'll find someone better. You'll find someone that deserves that ring if you don't throw it in the sewer and…yeah. Fuck her. You'll find someone better and less hickish."

"My father saw it coming. When he was here…he saw it coming. And the people at PD saw it coming too. Everyone but me saw it coming. I should've. I knew that once I fell in love with you then I was fucking screwed."

A hot slam of pain went through her heart and she narrowed her eyes, both in anger and in an effort to hold back tears.

"No one forced you to love me, jackass. You should've known better not to. I'm too fucked up and fucked over to love anyone."

"Bullshit.", he replied in the same flat angry tone. "There's nothing wrong with you except for cowardice. How long are you gonna hide behind your daddy issues, Mary? The old bastard's rotting in the grave where he belongs and he might as well have died the moment he walked out on you, anyway."

"You don't know what you're…"

"Don't insult me or my intelligence anymore, Mary. I'm in no mood to deal with it."

She sighed raggedly and snapped, "Fine! Stand here and brood over that bitch if you want to! This is what I get for trying to be a decent friend!"

"It's about 8 years overdue, anyway. See you in the morning."

_**/**_

"_Mann_."

"Marshall?"

"_Brandi? Why are you_…?"

"Whatever the hell is wrong between you and Mary, you need to get your ass up and go fix it right now! I'm sick of seeing my sister miserable and I know damned well that it's your fault!"

"_Brandi, this is between me and Mary. Does she know you're calling me?_"

"No, and she's probably gonna skin me alive for it but I don't give a fuck. I've had to listen to her cry herself to sleep every fucking night since you two 'talked' before your boss left and she came home so pissed last night that I took Norah and Beriah to Mark's."

"_Beriah?_"

"Beriah James Shannon-Alpert. My kid with Peter who I'm trying to work shit out with like an adult instead of running off like a little kid like last time. You would know about it if you bothered to be a decent friend for the last 6 months. Just because you're all engaged and stuff doesn't mean you get to toss Mary and the rest of us aside like garbage. Abigail's not the only person who gives a shit about you around town, you know."

"_I'm not engaged anymore. Abigail left 3 weeks ago. Look, Brandi, there's a lot more to this than you're seeing…_"

"You love Mary. You've been in love with her for forever but you got sick of waiting around and her screwing you over with other guys all the damned time so you hooked up with Abigail to try and move on, it failed miserably, she got sick of playing second fiddle to Mare, left you, and now you blame Mary and yourself for the deep shitty hole of despair you're in right now. Did I miss anything?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line and then a soft, impressed sounding, "…_no_."

"I figured. FYI, just because I do stupid shit sometimes doesn't mean I'm a stupid person. Look, I don't care nor do I wanna know the exact dirty twisted deets going on between you and her but you two need to either take your prideful heads out of your asses and be together or just leave each other alone for good. One or the other but no more of this limbo, mambo, 1, 2, 3, bullshit. It's not kosher for either of you…and I'm sorry for yelling at you."

He laughed weakly and replied, "_I think I deserved that. Brandi, I'm not promising anything. Mary and I have been messed up for a long time, even before Abigail and…I don't know if it can be fixed back to the way things were._"

"The way things were sucked for both of you. Fix it so it's different."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Good evening, everyone. I'm still not sure if there's gonna be any sex in the endgame of this one but there will be a resolution of things spoken and unspoken. Thank you all for patiently indulging my bitter emoness so far. I love you all more than pistachios and enjoy the chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"**

"…_there's nothing wrong with you except for **cowardice**… how long are you gonna hide behind your daddy issues, Mary…don't insult me or my intelligence anymore, Mary…it's about 8 years overdue, anyway…knew that once I fell in love with you then I was fucking screwed…_"

Mary sighed and turned onto her left side, punching the shit out of her pillow in an effort to make it more comfortable. Mark had left a voicemail sweetly saying that he'd keep Norah until Tuesday, giving her a chance to "mellow out". Squish had left a note saying the same thing, only with a lot more curse words and much less patience. Damn. First, Marshall and now Brandi. She was starting to get a fucking PhD in pissing off the people who show her the most care. All she'd have to do is piss off Stan, Jinx and Norah and she'd have a full hand to fail with...

Giving up, she sat up and cocked her head. On the closet shelf was an unopened, lightly dusty basket of home spa products. Jinx had gotten them for her after she came home from the hospital, saying that she'd need them eventually. A warm bath couldn't make the troubles go away but they could at least make them more bearable, she said. At the time, Mary had scoffed it off but now…well, it's not like she had a best friend to vent to anymore and the house was empty for the first time in god knows when. Not only would she be able to soak in peace, she wouldn't have to put clothes on immediately…

_**Now, if you could just take your clothes at the right time with the right Mann with two Ns, not one, then you'd be cooking with gas…**_

As the tub filled, she wondered if the acid in her brain would eventually eat a hole through her skull. Even the worse face off with her family members couldn't come close to raking her over the coals like her own mind did. Bitch of it was that it was right. 98% of the rift she had with Marshall, the sheer misery she felt nowadays were a direct result of her own ass backward self preserving logic. Keep your hopes down, push away anyone who starts wanting something deep with her, run, run far away from commitments and love? Love was nothing more than a two bit way for Hallmark to make money and to keep divorce lawyers employed through recessions and beyond…

She had never expected him to just give up on her. That was at the root of it. Marshall Mann had been loyal to her, honest with her, tolerant and better than her backup weapon for so long, she never expected it to end without some stupid fuck in the field getting a lucky shot first. But, it had. Slowly but surely, he had lost faith in her. With every idiot ass selfish decision, with every Epps, Raph, Faber, Mark, and numerous other cowboys, the faith had been eaten away. Then, he had met Abigail. Normal little Abigail and it was like being set adrift. Sure, he was there but it wasn't the same and the hope and loyalty had been transferred to the perky bumpkin. It had hurt more than she had cared to admit.

Through the hurt came one good thing: Norah. No matter how much of a screw up she felt, she would never ever regret Norah. Her little girl was the light of her World, now. Every time she felt like going off the rails at work or with some new idiot, Mary would think of her baby and rein it in. She hadn't been able to give her to someone else, no matter how much better off she may have been with the Templetons or some other normal couple, so she needed to be there for her. She needed to be a better example for her daughter so Norah wouldn't end up fucked up like she was. Hadn't Marshall warned her about that in those last pre-Balcony days? He had…

"…_there's nothing wrong with you except for **cowardice**_…"

She was pissed off at Abigail, too. Even though she was taking Marshall away from her, Mary had grown determined to learn to at least tolerate her, if not out and out like her. Abigail was the anti-her: emotionally healthy, warm, and cheerful. She was supposed to make Marshall happy, to give him more than the badge and the caustic venom, to give him a family with that mangy but lovable mutt, to give him everything that Mary couldn't and wouldn't. But, it hadn't worked out that way. The bitch had left him high and dry, left him burnt and broken like he so didn't deserve…

If she ever saw her again, she'd be shot on sight. No quarter, no explanations, no mercy…

"…_there's nothing wrong with you except for **cowardice**…"_

The fragrant water felt good on her skin, as did the mango scented war paint (aroma therapy facial…) she had smeared on. The A/C kicked on and Mary sank deeper into the tub, watching as the bubbles covered over her cleavage like cloth. Her wet hair had a cucumber mango treatment thing in it that warmed pleasantly as time went by and by all accounts, she should be relaxing. Instead, her brain was in overdrive, sorting through 8 years of interactions, of emotions, of everything. In her eyes, there were plenty things wrong with her other than cowardice. In most of humanity's eyes, there were plenty of things wrong with her other than cowardice. Why did Marshall think differently? Why did Marshall **_still_ **think differently? Wasn't he done with her? Done with her twisted version of friendship?

Perhaps not.

Maybe Abigail hadn't gotten all his faith, after all. Even though she had been his fiancée, Mary had been his partner for much longer and while Abigail had fucked him, Mary had been in the dirt and grime with him. Hell, they had dodged and taken bullets together. They had protected dozens of people together. They had been…partners. _**Real**_ partners…

The war paint and treatment were rinsed out and she let out some of the tepid water before replacing it with more hot. Even though, she was essentially stewing in her own filth, she had to give Jinx credit. Physically, she felt better but unless someone could come up with a way to exfoliate away past mistakes…

Her cell phone rang and she half got out of the tub, thankful that she had the foresight to put towels on the floor as water sluiced off her now dewy skin.

"This is Mary."

Silence. Silence but familiar, slightly raspy breathing.

"Marshall?"

"_Are…can you come into the office?_"

"Is there something wrong with one of the witnesses?" she asked as she got all the way out of the tub, throwing on her robe.

"_No. There's something wrong with us and I'd like to start trying to fix it._"

Against her will, hope bloomed in her chest and instead of stomping on it or dismissing it as a fluke, she…

"I'd like that, too. Very much."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Good afternoon, folks. So, there will be sex in this story after all. I couldn't help but draft it in my head and it fit so...yeah. It's gonna be in the next chapter and that will be the last. I feel terrible stomach wise and a little feverish but writing always makes me feel better. Writing, music, cherry soda, whipped cream out of the can, and painkillers. Again, thanks for reading this.**

**Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"**

"Hey. I picked up a peace offering. I thought about getting some booze but I think it would better in the long run if we did this sober. Is here okay?"

Marshall nodded and sat on the conference room floor across from her, both of them digging into the Boston cream pie. He had removed his boots and blazer hours ago, settling in for an all nighter on triplicate as usual. It wasn't like he had anyone waiting for him at home and if his personal life was a shambles, then he'd make sure his professional life wouldn't end up the same way.

As he made progress on the ever present stacks, he couldn't help but dwell on the argument he had started with her and before he could stop himself (which had become his custom to do so…), he had called her, shocked when she answered. He figured that she'd be pissed at him, still and that she'd hang up as soon as he told her that the witnesses were okay. She hadn't, though and she had agreed to come talk without a second thought.

It gave him hope.

Mary had on green flannel pajama pants, a white tank top, and the dark gray zip up hoodie he had been looking for off and on since '07. Her bare feet were tucked underneath her and he could see that her hair had air dried and frizzed slightly in the humidity. What struck him the most about her appearance were her eyes. They were weary as always but…open. Completely open. Barring times of injury or the 'let the river flow' breakdown post Spanky, her eyes stayed guarded…

"I've really fucked things up for us, haven't I? You and me could and should be like on our 4th kid by now but…yeah. You were right yesterday. I _**am**_ a coward and an absolute idiot for letting shit get this bad between us."

"It's not all your fault, Mary." he pointed out rightfully.

"True but the most colossal fuck-ups can be traced back to my actions and decisions. I slept with Epps, I told Raph about WitSec, I ran off and fucked Faber when you put yourself out there in a passive aggressive but still obvious way, leading to you meeting that bitch and to her breaking your heart."

"I should've been more straight forward with you about how I felt in the first place and what happened with Abigail wasn't your fault. I'm the one who chose to fall in love with you and I'm the one who chose not to move on emotionally, no matter how much it would've made sense to. She…she saw it, she fought against it, and then she got sick of it. She said that I was treating her like sloppy seconds, a consolation prize…"

"You're not a bastard like that, Marshall."

"I'm glad you still think that but at the end of the day, she was right and I'm a bastard for leading her on like I did."

"You didn't lead her on. You actually loved her."

"Not like I love you."

"Obviously.", she deadpanned before shaking her head. "I don't get it. Why me? Of all the women you could have, why the hell did you pick me? Are you a masochist?"

He barked out a laugh and replied," I'm not even sure anymore. I used to have reasons why I fell for you but as time passed, I didn't need them anymore. It was just a fact of life like photosynthesis or animal migrations."

"Did you seriously just say that?"

"I did."

"Wow."

Both of them chuckled and she grabbed his hands, looking down as he held on immediately. With a deep sigh, she met his gaze and started chewing about her lower lip.

"Look, I don't…I'm not saying that I…and I know this is overdue and stating the fucking obvious but… Marshall, I think we could work. Like more than friends and boss and subordinate but…can we...um…shit, I suck at this…"

"You want to take things slowly."he surmised.

"Yes! That's…yes. I mean, if you want to. It's okay if you don't. I would understand and…hell, we gotta learn how to be friends again and as tempted as I am to throw down with you right now, it wouldn't be a good idea. You're still heartbroken and I can't just leap headfirst into shit anymore. When I do that, people get hurt, _**you**_ get hurt and for fuck's sake, I've done enough hurting you to last 6 lifetimes. And I need to learn how to be a better friend to you, anyway. It's about 8 years overdue."

"Slow would be good."

"Really? You mean that? You still want to…if I were you, I'd…"

"But, you're **_not_ **me. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions and as long as you mean what you're saying, that I'm not gonna find out you ran off to Cabo with some ATF guy or you screw and make a baby with some other hidden ex-spouse…"

"I've just got the one, Doofus."

"…you have no idea how much I've missed you calling me Doofus… Mary, as long as you back up what you've just said, then I'm here."

"You always are. I can't promise that I won't hurt you again but I'll do my damned best not to on purpose."

"I can live with that."

He pulled his hands away and she moved forward, hugging him. One of his hands went to her back and he lowered his head so that it rested on top of hers.

"You smell good."

"It's some of that girly crap that Jinx gave me after Bug was born. I was in the tub when you called me."

"Oh. I didn't mean to interrupt that."

"It's worth it. _**You're**_ worth it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Good evening, everyone. Thanks for sticking to the end with me on this one and for this fandom in general. I'm not saying that I won't ever return to the**_** IPS**_** sandbox but I can safely say that it will be awhile. I've been bitten by new fandom bugs and I've got an AU for a **_**Criminal Minds**_** canon event that pissed me off and made me bawl like a baby buzzing around in my skull. Not to mention the other fics I have to finish…my point is that I'm letting the cane hook me and drag me off the stage. But not forever. Thanks again for your support and patience and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. With love, ~*CMW2*~**

**Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"**

If anyone asked, Mary Shannon would say that the absolute worst thing about her relationship with Marshall Mann was that it was the complete opposite of normal.

If anyone asked, Mary Shannon would say that the absolute best thing about her relationship with Marshall Mann was that it was the complete opposite of normal.

The best example of the latter was the fact that right then, she was on top of his desk, clutching onto his arms as he kissed, suckled, and did something absolutely sinful with teeth to her neck. Marshall was standing between her parted knees and her hips met him halfway in a slow, denim frictioned grind. Their lips met again and both of them moaned loudly, tongues and teeth clashing, dueling, dancing…

He broke the kiss and Mary captured his lower lip in her teeth tugging gently as he pulled her flush against him. It had been 4 months since they formally made peace and they slowly pieced their friendship back together. No, not back together, into something better. While they were still 'Mary and Marshall' of old, with sniping and random trivia, there was a softer side to her and a firmer side to him. He didn't hesitate to reel her in when the banter became bitter and she was much more conscious of his feelings and the direct effect her actions had on them. It was still a close bond but a much more balanced one.

And Marshall had decided to court her. Old school, throwback, straight face court her. There were real dates and he had become a fixture at her dinner table every Saturday, much to everyone's delight, especially Norah.

Her first word had been Marshall.

In response to his courtship, she had helped him find a new place and make it his own with paint and sledgehammers. There had been a lot of conversation, laughter (god, she had missed the laughter...) and kissing. A whole lot of really good kissing but both of them had been resolute in taking it slow. Slow was good. Slow was needed. Slow was…slow was certainly out the window tonight.

Her dark gray v-neck was pulled over her head and his black blazer hit the floor. She unbuttoned his light blue dress shirt and her bare heels dug into the small of his back, glad that they had both ditched their footwear. It was less to take off, less to get out of the goddamned way so they could feel each other's skin. She wanted skin.

Belts were undone, jeans pulled off, his undershirt torn (and no, she was _**not**_ getting him a new one, damn it…), her pink bra pulled over her head, his black boxer briefs yanked down and chucked onto the file cabinet, her red bikinis joining them, and finally skin. God, his skin, his body, his scent, just him in general…

Desk accessories hit the floor as he moved them forward but both of them ignored the wreckage for more kissing, for exploring palms and fingers. They ended up flat on the surface and she looked up at him, meeting his gaze.

"_I want you."_

"_Get inside me."_

"_Protection?"_

"_IUD."_

"_Do you want me to use…"_

"…_I want to feel all of you. I want all of you. Give me all of you."_

Marshall pushed inside of her slowly but firmly, both of them shuddering and moaning as her body welcomed his. Like she had seen in countless movies, his hand slid into hers, his fingers fitting into the spaces between hers and she held on with white knuckle intensity.

Mary never wanted to let go of him.

Ever.

**FIN.**


End file.
